Conventional electric motor-operated windows of vehicles, especially automobile door windows that have ascending and descending panes, commonly have the drive motor mounted inside the wall or the box-casing of the door. The motor drive force is transmitted to the window pane by shafts, connecting rods, levers or cables. The motor force usually acts on the window pane through a device which is clamped on the lower edge of the window pane, thereby causing the pane to move in its guides. Alternatively, the device may be mounted upon a lower portion of the pane by means of one or more bolts passing through holes in the pane.
It is already known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,613 to design a motor-driven window mechanism in such a way that the electric motor is fixed to the pane, and therefore moves with it in both directions, while cooperating with a shaft mounted inside the door casing. In such devices, the motor may be mounted directly on the pane. This arrangement requires that considerable space be reserved inside the wall or door casing to allow the motor to move freely in the directions of travel. It is also necessary to provide means and, if applicable, complementary holes through the door casing, to provide access to the motor for repairs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,818 also describes a motor-driven automobile window wherein an electric motor is mounted on a support projecting downwards beyond the edge of the pane. Alternatively, the motor can be placed along the edge of the window pane. However, each of these mounting methods requires additional supports which necessarily result in further manufacturing difficulty and expense.